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"Where values meet art, history, media and technology."

Aug

31

SANDY, Utah — Brett Winn's musical style of "Latin fusion" won him plenty of swoons and applause from concert goers at the Mormon Times Summer Showcase performance Thursday, Aug. 27. His unique and varied sound also won him $5,000. via MormonTimes

Aug

31

"Some months ago a noise was made among the credulous of the earth," the article began, "respecting a wonderful production said to have been found as follows. An ignoramus near Palmyra, Wayne county, pretended he had found some 'Gold Plates,' as he is pleased to call them, upon which is said to be engraved characters [...]

Aug

30

"You name it, I want to go there," Philbrick says. "Not just to go, but to go take pictures, go to capture. Every picture I take has a purpose. Good photographers arent just snapping pictures all the time. They think, Oh, this is nice, but the light isnt right, so Ill come back when the [...]

Aug

29

Mosiah 4:19 has been on my mind, as I have been hearing more about these benefit concerts. King Benjamin asks, "Are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have…?" via MormonTimes

Aug

27

We can learn. Remember when Nephi asked the angel about the meaning of the tree in his father's dream? The angel doesn't spell it all out. He's really stingy. He shows Nephi things until Nephi comes to understanding. He's bringing Nephi along. That is the "manner of the Jews." Watching a movie in this close [...]

Aug

26

Johnson believes using her gift to pay tribute to Christ is only fitting, as He is the giver of the greatest gifts. “What is amazing to me is what Jesus Christ can do with a soul," she said. via LDS Living.

Aug

26

Speaking with the Deseret News at Primary Children's Medical Center, where his transplant will take place, he reflected on a year of knowing that his future depends largely on factors he has no control over. Pediatric heart surgeons will replace his diseased heart when the time comes, because they've been treating his disease since childhood. [...]

Aug

26

So do you like these sorts of films? We need to learn how to speak intelligently about film and understand why some are better than others. We will talk tomorrow about an online class you can find at CampusStudios.com, that teaches how to understand and assess the plots of films, character development, themes and film [...]

Aug

24

"The responsibility for producing, selecting and performing music for the Church requires discrimination, taste, knowledge and the proper spirit; in short, it requires the best efforts that our best musicians can give inasmuch as we are using gifts which the Lord has given us for the purpose of building up His kingdom and as a [...]

Aug

23

"We have students who come in and know how to use the software, but it's learning how to tell meaningful, effective stories that still requires a lot of effort. In all these movies, the students worked really hard to get their scripts in place, and that's important," he said. "Good movies don't come from bad [...]

Aug

23

Giving more children the opportunity to explore music and the arts — including writing and composing their own operas — is the goal noted Mormon singer Michael Ballam shared during the final session of his "Music and the Mind" class during BYU Education Week. via MormonTimes

Aug

23

"What we are trying to do is make a great musical that involves LDS people and Book of Mormon characters," said Christensen's wife, Tiffany. "We wanted it to be funny and entertaining but yet have an honest message at the same time. via Standard Net.

Aug

23

From the dawn of this gospel dispensation, the Lord has enshrined music as an essential part of our liturgy. Three months after the organization of the Church, the Lord gave a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith instructing that his wife, Emma, make a selection of sacred hymns. The revelation contained the passage, quoted so [...]

Aug

23

"Never since the day of Joseph Smith; never since the translation of the Book of Mormon; never since the receipt of the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants and the inspired writings in the Pearl of Great Price — never has there been such an opportunity to increase gospel scholarship as has now come to [...]

Aug

21

Fractures in the stone and the ensuing moisture and condensation inside resulted in extensive damage to the stored paper products hidden well more than a century inside the temple's foundation. via Deseret News

Aug

20

"If you're saying, 'OK, I will get something out of Church when it starts when I want it to start, when teachers who are trying to be funny are actually funny, there are no boring speakers and all 2-year-olds sit quietly and ponder the splendors of Zion' — if you are going to wait for [...]

Aug

20

Current director Jerry Bradford announced the special showing of “Messiah: Behold the Lamb of God,” a seven-part documentary series produced by the Maxwell Institute in collaboration with BYU Broadcasting. Parts one through three of the series are showing in the Joseph Smith Building auditorium through Friday, 4:30 until 6:45 p.m. The series is in its [...]

Aug

19

Latter-day Saints can surround themselves with good music and other forms of uplifting art to help ward off the attacks of the adversary, a renowned opera singer told an audience at Education Week on Monday. “(The devil) knows our past, he knows our future, he knows our destinies,” said Michael Ballam, a professor at Utah [...]

Aug

19

“You may notice a different, more conversational tone on this blog than you would see in official news releases on the Newsroom Web site. This blog will be managed and written by staff of the Public Affairs Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The information here will be reliable and accurate [...]

Aug

19

“Are you wondering how you can participate in the online conversation about us as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?–without being preachy, or unnatural?” If so, we have a solution for you! via The More Good Foundation.

Aug

18

Carter began by outlining the three reasons Mormon publications are hitting some lean times: 1. Consumers think information should be free. 2. The recession is affecting Mormon publications. 3. The blogs are taking away the Mormon magazine and journal audience since they are real-time conversations. He advanced three ways traditional Mormon publications could once again [...]

Aug

18

Speaking Monday in a session of BYU's Education Week, Ballam said that just as hymns and songs can be inspired by God, so can music be inspired convincingly and beautifully by the devil. via MormonTimes

Aug

18

Finally, Bott spoke of how Abraham had to do something which was totally against his value system. He said most saints would never find themselves asked to do something in this category, but that there are examples where the Lord has asked something along these lines to allow his servants to learn something about themselves. [...]

Aug

18

On a warm June day in 2001, Noel Reynolds, then a BYU Vice-President, sat pondering a moment and then looked straight at me on the other side of the desk and said, “This film, if done right, will become the ‘Jesus the Christ’ for the twenty-first century. This is the perfect project for a visual [...]